The full quote, from Return to Love: Reflections on A Course in Miracles, is even more powerful ~
‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear
is that we are powerful beyond imagination. It is our light more than
our darkness which scares us. We ask ourselves – who are we to be
brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous. But honestly, who are you
to not be so? * You are a child of God, small games do not work in this world. For
those around us to feel peace, it is not example to make ourselves
small. We were born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It
is not in some of us, it is in all of us. While we allow our light to
shine, we unconsciously give permission for others to do the same. When
we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may
liberate others.’
While the condensed quote carries great power, it is the last line of the full quote that brings to mind so many of friends who embodied that liberation from fear ~ "When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others."
I think about Dad, felled just shy of 62 by brain cancer, about how he received the diagnosis with acceptance unsullied by resignation, concerned for his O Best Beloved, but apparently not for himself. He modeled a person liberated from fear of death.
I think about Mom, who left us a long 28 years later, at 91. When I think of her during that last hospitalization, am reminded of a passage from Elswyth Thane's, The Light Heart. A young woman, about to enter a loveless marriage arranged by social-climbing family, remembers a friend practically dancing to her new husband, so happy to be married to him. That image left a deep imprint on my heart. It embodies Mom over those six weeks between her tumble & her departure from us. She practically danced her way into death, utterly liberated from any fear of what had come before or what lay ahead.
I think about Morna Hyatt and of Mace Adams, great examples of "ancients" who let their light shine, even as their earthly life force dimmed; who never let their true self be held prisoner within a frail earthly body; who transcended their failing physical forms; who freed their minds to shine forth, brilliant & fabulous.
Perhaps the best way any of us can guarantee having a similarly liberated end of life - whether we are taken before "our time," as Dad was, or live to a ripe old age, like Mom - is to live every moment of our life with grace & gratitude, with assurance that we are fully adequate to each moment, however challenging it might be.
When we live an empowered life, when we help those around us see their brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous selves, life will be good & feel great. The best way to say goodbye to the here & now is to feel the glory of the divine within us.
The Old Testament says that God created humans in His image, male & female together, and called them Adam, or mankind. We are - men & women - images of God, which is as BIG as it gets. When we have done our best to live a life that expresses the glory of god that lives within each of us, death will be a natural transition, not a thing to be feared.
I think of Ann Barnitz Rose, who died so young. Yes, family & friends surrounded her as parting grew nearer, but she had held them close to her throughout her life. Her dying reflected her total life - filled with love for her husband, her children, her family & friends, even for pleasant acquaintances, like myself. She embodied a life writ large, expressing & shimmering in the glory of God.
Lots of people assume my main interest is in working with older people, in helping them experience engaged, energized, empowered lives. That is part of my deepest purpose. Equally important is doing all I can to help people of all ages embrace the simple truth that we - each & everyone of us, whatever our age - are called to live with our end in mind.
It is tempting for people to think that the time for such high-minded living is later, when we are older, nearer that end. But, in the words that moved the great Mandela, we are - each & everyone of us - "born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us." From our first breath to our last. Whatever our faith, we are called to strive mightily & do what great things we can - "small games do not work in this world."
My great wish for all my loved ones, pleasant acquaintances & flat-out strangers is that they let their true light shine. My great wish for my young friends & middle aging contemporaries is that they express the glory of god in each here & now moment, without delay. My great wish for my older friends is that they - like Mom & Dad, Morna & Mace - let their light shine, even as their earthly life force dims.
While the condensed quote carries great power, it is the last line of the full quote that brings to mind so many of friends who embodied that liberation from fear ~ "When we liberate ourselves from our own fears, simply our presence may liberate others."
I think about Dad, felled just shy of 62 by brain cancer, about how he received the diagnosis with acceptance unsullied by resignation, concerned for his O Best Beloved, but apparently not for himself. He modeled a person liberated from fear of death.
I think about Mom, who left us a long 28 years later, at 91. When I think of her during that last hospitalization, am reminded of a passage from Elswyth Thane's, The Light Heart. A young woman, about to enter a loveless marriage arranged by social-climbing family, remembers a friend practically dancing to her new husband, so happy to be married to him. That image left a deep imprint on my heart. It embodies Mom over those six weeks between her tumble & her departure from us. She practically danced her way into death, utterly liberated from any fear of what had come before or what lay ahead.
I think about Morna Hyatt and of Mace Adams, great examples of "ancients" who let their light shine, even as their earthly life force dimmed; who never let their true self be held prisoner within a frail earthly body; who transcended their failing physical forms; who freed their minds to shine forth, brilliant & fabulous.
Perhaps the best way any of us can guarantee having a similarly liberated end of life - whether we are taken before "our time," as Dad was, or live to a ripe old age, like Mom - is to live every moment of our life with grace & gratitude, with assurance that we are fully adequate to each moment, however challenging it might be.
When we live an empowered life, when we help those around us see their brilliant, beautiful, talented, and fabulous selves, life will be good & feel great. The best way to say goodbye to the here & now is to feel the glory of the divine within us.
The Old Testament says that God created humans in His image, male & female together, and called them Adam, or mankind. We are - men & women - images of God, which is as BIG as it gets. When we have done our best to live a life that expresses the glory of god that lives within each of us, death will be a natural transition, not a thing to be feared.
I think of Ann Barnitz Rose, who died so young. Yes, family & friends surrounded her as parting grew nearer, but she had held them close to her throughout her life. Her dying reflected her total life - filled with love for her husband, her children, her family & friends, even for pleasant acquaintances, like myself. She embodied a life writ large, expressing & shimmering in the glory of God.
Lots of people assume my main interest is in working with older people, in helping them experience engaged, energized, empowered lives. That is part of my deepest purpose. Equally important is doing all I can to help people of all ages embrace the simple truth that we - each & everyone of us, whatever our age - are called to live with our end in mind.
It is tempting for people to think that the time for such high-minded living is later, when we are older, nearer that end. But, in the words that moved the great Mandela, we are - each & everyone of us - "born to express the glory of god that lives in us. It is not in some of us, it is in all of us." From our first breath to our last. Whatever our faith, we are called to strive mightily & do what great things we can - "small games do not work in this world."
My great wish for all my loved ones, pleasant acquaintances & flat-out strangers is that they let their true light shine. My great wish for my young friends & middle aging contemporaries is that they express the glory of god in each here & now moment, without delay. My great wish for my older friends is that they - like Mom & Dad, Morna & Mace - let their light shine, even as their earthly life force dims.
Who are they - we - I not to?
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